How to Saucer Pass

I thought we would take a break from the Deke of Week for the summer and stick to off-ice training, I will be including stickhandling drills and other off-ice tips so you can improve over the summer. One skill that I have gotten a lot of requests for is the saucer pass. If you can send some nice sauce across the ice it looks great, and feels even better! In this article and video I will show you how to pull off a perfect saucer pass

When to use a Saucer Pass

If you have a defencemen trying to get his stick in between your perfect pass you need to lay on the sauce! A saucer pass is perfect to use if you have to get the puck across the ice and over a few obstacles.

How To Saucer Pass

There are a few different ways that you can pull off a nice saucer pass. The easiest way to do this is to simply open the face of the blade of your stick (like a wedge) put some pressure on the puck at the heel of your stick, and then sweep it across the blade and send it when the puck gets to the toe. There is a certain grace and softness you need to possess to pull the pass off, so you will have to practice a lot.

Saucer Pass Video – Forehand, Backhand, Flip Pass, Dangle & Sauce!

Patrick Kane on the Saucer Pass

I found this on youtube and thought it would be cool to include some pro instructions, big thanks to Bauer for tossing this up!

Tips for Laying the Sauce

For a high saucer pass start with the blade like a wedge, and pull up a lot as you make the pass

For a long saucer pass you can take more of a wrist shot motion

Practice getting the puck landing flat on the ice, you don’t want any wobble!

Make sure you get the puck to land a few feet before the players blade, you want the puck to settle down before the other player receives it

Practice stickhandling a bit and then making the saucer pass, this will enable you to make a saucer pass in any situation

How to Flip Pass

The flip pass is a cheeky play but when you can pull it off it looks great and your team mates will love you. Usually a bank pass or saucer pass will do, but when there is no other option the flip pass is the perfect way to air mail somebody a perfect breakaway! Let’s take a look at Kopitar with a couple beauty flip passes

Kopitar with a BEAUTY Flip Pass

Anze Kopitar show’s you how it is done with a really nice flip pass to Dustin Brown

Here is Kopitar with ANOTHER beautiful and perfectly executed flip pass

Tips for the Perfect Flip Pass

You might think you need to put a lot of power in the flip pass but this is not true, in fact if you push too hard the puck will slide right off your blade. The trick is to do a nice smooth motion

One method is to use the toe of the blade, pull the puck back a bit, then roll your hands over, open the blade and scoop it right under the puck. Once you feel the puck on the blade give it a nice flick motion while lifting both hands up.

Another method is to start with the blade open and a few inches off the ice, you want to have the toe pointed slightly towards the ice. Think of this motion like scooping ice cream, you want to roll your wrists while moving the blade down, get under the puck, then lift it up. This is the motion Kopitar uses in the last video

Check the video tutorial at the top and near the end I give you some tips on the flip pass.

Remember that you want to land this pass in front of the player so they can pick it up and go, this requires some practice so try it out when you get some ice time.

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Hi my name is Jeremy Rupke. My goal is to break every hockey skill down into easy to understand articles and videos. I explain everything step-by-step to help others improve. I'm active on Instagram, Facebook and more, you can follow through the links above.
If you want to learn more about me you can read my about page. Thanks for reading and sharing!

Hi Jeremy,
I have recently cured myself of “panic passing”; just passing the puck anywhere to get rid of it when pressured.
Now I look around and try to find an open teammate but now my problem is I seem to telegraph my passes so the other team knows where I am going to pass it.
Any advice?

That’s good that you don’t panic pass anymore, that’s a common problem with some players. Now the trick is surveying the ice and then making your pass, don’t just look in one spot and then pass. A good habit is to do checks of the ice so you know where your guys are. By checking over your shoulder (especially when going to get a puck after the other team dumps it in) and keeping your head up you should have a good idea where your players are. This lets you move the puck quickly without needing to stare at where you are passing.

The other trick is getting the puck off quickly, if you look at a guy, take a few strides towards him while setting up the puck and then pass it, everyone in the arena will see that pass coming. If you skate with your head up, find a spot a guy in your peripheral vision and then quickly pass it you will get more passes through.

When you get the pass you need to “catch” it. You don’t just want to leave your stick there otherwise the puck will bounce right off like you said, also cupping the puck helps. By catching the puck I mean move your blade with the puck, think of it sort of like passing a puck into an elastic band vs passing the puck into a brick wall. You want your blade to be like the elastic band, catch the puck and slow it down before you stop it.

Great saucer pass video. Explained very well, particularly showing the puck and the spin and the pressure point with the puck in your hands. That shows us EXACTLY where the puck should be on your stick and where the pressure should be and how it should spin.

I didn’t really get it until I saw where you were pointing with your hands.